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“Yes, you too must pay your child support Mr. NFL Superstar”

You may remember Travis Henry: running back drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2001, spent two years with the Tennessee Titans, and then a modest year with the Denver Broncos in 2007, the last year Travis Henry was on the field after pleading guilty to a cocaine charge.
What about Jamal Lewis? Lewis had a magnificent career with the Baltimore Ravens before finishing his career with the Cleveland Browns. After becoming the second rookie in history to run for more than 100 yards in a Superbowl (2001), Lewis retired from the game in 2009.

And then there’s Terrell Owens…who can forget him? The talented, flamboyant, media hound recently found a new home with the Seattle Seahawks after several successful stints with other teams.

What do these three NFL Stars of past and present have in common? Child support woes. Yes, just another reason to feel sorry for the poor multi-millionaire athletes who don’t already have enough problems. Forced to deal with concussions, bounty hunting scandals, and greedy agents, these unfortunate guys are now being told they have to support their children like the rest of the US population.

Terrell Owens has a daughter, and he was significantly behind in child support payments. After months of non-payment and missing a court date, Owens was facing possible jail time. An agreement was reached in which he was to catch up on previously owed support and Owens managed to save his hide.

Not so lucky was Jamal Lewis. Lewis was arrested last month for delinquency on child support payments. Lewis was charged with misdemeanor child abandonment. Lewis had allowed more than a year to pass by without making any contact with his minor son, including no financial contributions. Lewis was released the next day after posting bond. He will still be required to answer the charges he faces.

These tales of superstar athletes failing to support their children pale in comparison to Travis Henry’s. Those of us in Colorado might remember Travis becoming a Denver Bronco back in 2007. He had a decent year. Then he disappeared. What happened to Henry? Well, he was arrested on charges related to a cocaine drug ring moving the drug between Colorado and Montana. He was arrested, charged, and pled guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine. He was sentenced to three years in prison. But wait! What does that have to do with child support? Henry had a multi-million dollar contract to play a game. Henry stated that he needed the drug business to subsidize his ever-growing child support obligation for his 11 kids from 10 different women. On a brighter note, with all of that unfortunate business behind him, Henry was just cleared last week by the NFL to make a comeback…as long as he keeps up on his child support.